Sunday, April 26, 2015
Trailer Coming Soon
Yes! Although it has been tough to get in the lab three times out of four, I will be releasing a teaser trailer very soon, if not tomorrow.I'm very excited to release a snippet of what Clara and I have done, because it is work to be proud of. These last couple of weeks have been really hectic with the music trip, the TestDAF, and the AP German final. However I've pulled together something and it's almost ready to go.
Thursday, April 23, 2015
My Lord And Savior- US Audio
So I just found my personal savior- us.audionetwork.com . This website is full of licensed music that is made to be background music for films. You can browse by mood, and then listen through the various tracks listed under that mood. The music is inexpensive, and only costs a little more than a dollar to use. I'll look around for some free music, but this is definitely where I will come back.
Monday, April 20, 2015
Contrasts and Juxtapositions
It's so incredible. Two weekends ago Clara and I were in the woods and this past weekend we spent in New York City. It almost made me a little sick to think of all the spoils and luxuries there. Now- by no mans is everyone in NYC living luxurious lives, most aren't, but we were high schoolers spending he weekend goofing off in downtown Manhattan, seeing shows, eating at the Hard Rock Cafe, and enjoying lovely, seventy degree weather. It certainly boggled my mind.
Monday, April 13, 2015
Practicing
Every time we slept in our shelter we were outside our comfort zone- or, at least our feet were. Although I row, and encounter wet feet often, sleeping in the outside with soaking wet cold feet was something I haven't quite done before. The shelter itself was actually pretty cozy, it was just those wet leaves that made us so uncomfortable.
Two ways I can make myself practice this week are putting more footage onto my film and pushing forward with my editing.
Two ways I can make myself practice this week are putting more footage onto my film and pushing forward with my editing.
Deadlines
My project has revolved around deadlines. That has been a strategy that my mentor, Mr. Nelson, and I have used to tackle the large project that Clara and I set before ourselves. Each trip serves as a deadline as well, because we have to make sure that we know what we're doing. When they are material things, or meeting with other people, I have been able to meet those deadlines. However getting into the media lab to edit has been challenging, and I have found it hard to meet those deadlines that I set for myself. I often also get stuck on revising parts that I've already edited, and nothing new gets done. Things get better, but nothing new.
In general deadlines work well for me. Even if I pull an all-nighter the day before the deadline, I feel much more pressured to do the work. It also helps me a lot if other people are depending on me to do the work, cause I don't like to let other people down. When it only depends on myself, I'm not letting anyone down if I don't do it. Clara and I both have that need- that's why we work so well together.
In general deadlines work well for me. Even if I pull an all-nighter the day before the deadline, I feel much more pressured to do the work. It also helps me a lot if other people are depending on me to do the work, cause I don't like to let other people down. When it only depends on myself, I'm not letting anyone down if I don't do it. Clara and I both have that need- that's why we work so well together.
Sunday, April 12, 2015
Jiggity Jig
Today we came home from our first survival trip. The first day was physically taxing but very fun. We walked back, packs slung over shoulders, and found a nice spot up on top of the gorge where the creek bends, creating a steep point in the land. We spent about six hours building the shelter- first putting a large log in the Y of another tree, then placing and weaving sticks along that log. After that we gathered leaves by the armful, and layered them over the stick frame. We placed bark on top of that, sort of as makeshift shingles, and laid a couple more sticks on to keep the bark in place. Walking up and down the sides of the gorge, hauling logs and sticks with us as we went, we expended a lot of calories, and as soon as we finished the shelter and set our stuff inside, it was time for dinner.
We gathered more tinder, kindling and small to larger wood, and then sat down to start the fire. It took us three tries to get the fire going, but as they say, three times' the charm. Soon we had fed the fire almost everything we had collected, and we had to gather more sticks. We got ourselves in a good spot,wood-supply-wise, and Clara made a tripod out of three live spruce bows, twine and another live Y-shaped branch to boil water. That night for dinner we had one can of kidney beans and an onion, fried together in our pan from the 50-something-year-old mess kit. We didn't have any utensils, so we ate it with our dirty hands. Those were the best tasting kidney beans I had ever had in my life, and the best they would taste the entire trip. It had started to rain while we were making dinner, and so as soon as we were done eating we got ready for bed. It rained throughout the night, and our shelter held up spectacularly well. There were only two small places where water dripped through. However because of the slope of the hill, we kept sliding down to the bottom of the shelter, where our tarp didn't quit reach, and the wet leaves soaked through our sleeping bags and wool socks and made our feet incredibly cold.
The next day we woke up again around 9:15. Everything outside the shelter was incredibly wet, and it took us four tries to get the fire going. Luckily there was some dry wood still, otherwise we would have been out of luck. We kept the fire going all day, and had oatmeal for breakfast and lunch, which Clara ate with her jackknife, and I with my Leatherman . I never thought that I would relish the taste of cold, burnt oatmeal, but that was a delicious lunch. There was no end to the amount of sticks and wood we collected that day. That night for dinner we chopped up a potato, one and a half carrots, and poured half of our big can of kidney beans into the pan and fried that over the fire. We ate that with our hands, and by then the sun had come out. We went for a hike down to the other side of the gorge, and then came back and sat around the fire for a little while, then went to bed. It didn't rain until early the next morning, however our feet were still incredibly cold.
The third and final full day we awoke to a very light snowfall, around the same time as yesterday, and got right to building a fire. This time it only took us two tries. Our lives had fallen into a monotonous pattern of gathering wood, putting it on the fire, and gathering more wood, and putting that on the fire. Rinse and repeat. We had nuts for breakfast, and a small can of chick peas for lunch. In between wood trips we played a game called, "What do you want to eat", where we shared our dreams of food from the outside world. I was fixated on these lobster ravioli I had at Ciao- I would have drop-kicked Betty White to get me some of those. Memories of fresh fruit, leafy vegetables, and meat danced across my mind all the time. For dinner we had the rest of our kidney beans and the last onion, as well as the one and a half carrots that we had left. We were both so sick of kidney beans, but Clara was a lot more sick of them than I was; she couldn't make herself eat more than a couple bites despite the fact that she was starving. I finished off the kidney beans and we went to bed. It's safe to say that I never want to see a kidney bean again.
We inhaled way too much smoke from the fire this weekend- enough that the thought of going to a friend's bonfire makes me physically ill. The same set of clothes that I wore for those days smell heavily of a fire. When we got back to my house this (Sunday) morning, I weighed myself before I ate anything, as I had done the day of our departure. I lost six pounds over the course of three days. We ate like kings at home- breakfast sausage and all. After Clara left to go home I took a nice, long, hot shower, then sat down to write this post. Overall the trip wen very well, and I am looking froward to our Adirondack Adventure.
We gathered more tinder, kindling and small to larger wood, and then sat down to start the fire. It took us three tries to get the fire going, but as they say, three times' the charm. Soon we had fed the fire almost everything we had collected, and we had to gather more sticks. We got ourselves in a good spot,wood-supply-wise, and Clara made a tripod out of three live spruce bows, twine and another live Y-shaped branch to boil water. That night for dinner we had one can of kidney beans and an onion, fried together in our pan from the 50-something-year-old mess kit. We didn't have any utensils, so we ate it with our dirty hands. Those were the best tasting kidney beans I had ever had in my life, and the best they would taste the entire trip. It had started to rain while we were making dinner, and so as soon as we were done eating we got ready for bed. It rained throughout the night, and our shelter held up spectacularly well. There were only two small places where water dripped through. However because of the slope of the hill, we kept sliding down to the bottom of the shelter, where our tarp didn't quit reach, and the wet leaves soaked through our sleeping bags and wool socks and made our feet incredibly cold.
The next day we woke up again around 9:15. Everything outside the shelter was incredibly wet, and it took us four tries to get the fire going. Luckily there was some dry wood still, otherwise we would have been out of luck. We kept the fire going all day, and had oatmeal for breakfast and lunch, which Clara ate with her jackknife, and I with my Leatherman . I never thought that I would relish the taste of cold, burnt oatmeal, but that was a delicious lunch. There was no end to the amount of sticks and wood we collected that day. That night for dinner we chopped up a potato, one and a half carrots, and poured half of our big can of kidney beans into the pan and fried that over the fire. We ate that with our hands, and by then the sun had come out. We went for a hike down to the other side of the gorge, and then came back and sat around the fire for a little while, then went to bed. It didn't rain until early the next morning, however our feet were still incredibly cold.
The third and final full day we awoke to a very light snowfall, around the same time as yesterday, and got right to building a fire. This time it only took us two tries. Our lives had fallen into a monotonous pattern of gathering wood, putting it on the fire, and gathering more wood, and putting that on the fire. Rinse and repeat. We had nuts for breakfast, and a small can of chick peas for lunch. In between wood trips we played a game called, "What do you want to eat", where we shared our dreams of food from the outside world. I was fixated on these lobster ravioli I had at Ciao- I would have drop-kicked Betty White to get me some of those. Memories of fresh fruit, leafy vegetables, and meat danced across my mind all the time. For dinner we had the rest of our kidney beans and the last onion, as well as the one and a half carrots that we had left. We were both so sick of kidney beans, but Clara was a lot more sick of them than I was; she couldn't make herself eat more than a couple bites despite the fact that she was starving. I finished off the kidney beans and we went to bed. It's safe to say that I never want to see a kidney bean again.
We inhaled way too much smoke from the fire this weekend- enough that the thought of going to a friend's bonfire makes me physically ill. The same set of clothes that I wore for those days smell heavily of a fire. When we got back to my house this (Sunday) morning, I weighed myself before I ate anything, as I had done the day of our departure. I lost six pounds over the course of three days. We ate like kings at home- breakfast sausage and all. After Clara left to go home I took a nice, long, hot shower, then sat down to write this post. Overall the trip wen very well, and I am looking froward to our Adirondack Adventure.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
Helping Out Others
Today I held one of the boom mics for my friend April's WISE project. She's making a TV show called Living With White Rice, that seeks to point out ridiculous Disney Channel stereotypes by parodying them. We had a blast- the script is great, the actors are phenomenal, and we got a lot done. You can learn more about April's Project here.
Monday, April 6, 2015
Packing List
Food:
- Brown Rice
- Black Beans
- Pinto Beans
- Raw Almonds
Cookware:
- Aluminum Mess Kit
- Boiling Pot
Tools & Supplies:
- Hatchet
- Machete
- Twine
- Knife
- Tarp
- Flint and Steele
Camera Needs:
- Memory Cards
- AA Batteries (and a lot)
- Portable Lithium battery charger
- Dry sacks
- Tripods
- Panasonic Lumix Camera
- Nikon Coolpix
Clothing:
- 4 Changes of underwear and socks
- Layers
- Rain Jacket
- Boots
Sunday, April 5, 2015
Gleaning From the Past
My project to evaluate from the past was Phil Durnford's Aviation Project from 2010. He had what seemed a very fun and exciting project- learning to fly a plane,
Reading his journal was very easy, because it was typed, fairly interesting, and to-the-point. He posted regularly, and had many journal entries. The entries themselves showed great evidence of research from many different sources- this guy put a lot of time into reading his books and passing his level tests to earn the right to sit in the cockpit and learn to fly. The entries included diagrams and other images, however some of the entries seemed to repeat themselves somewhat, as he described a couple different times the different kinds of visual mishaps that pilots may have and other technical issues. I loved his description of his first flight- it sounded incredible. He also seemed to be fairly skilled at goal setting, and managed to meet his own mini-deadlines most of the time.
What I enjoyed most about his journal was his display of conviction and passion. He was very enthused about flying a plane, and worked very hard to achieve his goal. He spoke of his family history in aviation, and his plans to join the Air Force. I wonder if he continued to pursue flying.
Overall I would give his project 45/50 points for the narrative and research components. His hands-on and book research, combined with the time he clearly spent on this project were phenomenal. The only reason why I would take off five points is the need for a little development in some of his entries, particularly a couple of his reviews of books and movies, and he could have paid a little more attention to conventions and spelling, however nothing interfered with comprehension. I also would have liked his writing to have been a little less plain- kind of like mashed potatoes. If you put too much salt on them they're repulsive, but not enough salt can make them bland and also unappetizing. Now don't get me wrong- his mashed potatoes, I mean writing- wasn't repulsive at all, but for my tastes it could have used just a dash more of salt.
Reading his journal was very easy, because it was typed, fairly interesting, and to-the-point. He posted regularly, and had many journal entries. The entries themselves showed great evidence of research from many different sources- this guy put a lot of time into reading his books and passing his level tests to earn the right to sit in the cockpit and learn to fly. The entries included diagrams and other images, however some of the entries seemed to repeat themselves somewhat, as he described a couple different times the different kinds of visual mishaps that pilots may have and other technical issues. I loved his description of his first flight- it sounded incredible. He also seemed to be fairly skilled at goal setting, and managed to meet his own mini-deadlines most of the time.
What I enjoyed most about his journal was his display of conviction and passion. He was very enthused about flying a plane, and worked very hard to achieve his goal. He spoke of his family history in aviation, and his plans to join the Air Force. I wonder if he continued to pursue flying.
Overall I would give his project 45/50 points for the narrative and research components. His hands-on and book research, combined with the time he clearly spent on this project were phenomenal. The only reason why I would take off five points is the need for a little development in some of his entries, particularly a couple of his reviews of books and movies, and he could have paid a little more attention to conventions and spelling, however nothing interfered with comprehension. I also would have liked his writing to have been a little less plain- kind of like mashed potatoes. If you put too much salt on them they're repulsive, but not enough salt can make them bland and also unappetizing. Now don't get me wrong- his mashed potatoes, I mean writing- wasn't repulsive at all, but for my tastes it could have used just a dash more of salt.
Friday, April 3, 2015
Weather
Now we are six days away for our first weekend in the woods. I'm excited and also a little nervous but I believe we should be fine. The weather is looking not-so-great for Thursday and Friday, but great for Saturday and Sunday. However they are predicting rain for pretty much the entire upcoming week, so maybe the storm will pass sooner rather than later and we'll have an extra day of sun.
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